“To know that a play broke down and that we’ve got each other’s back out there, that was what that was about,” Kennedy told Sporting News when asked about the reaction. “Everyone was covering for one another … hopefully it just inspired the team a little bit.”

Kennedy’s brilliant save put an exclamation point on the most surprising result of the young MLS season, Chivas USA’s 1-0 win at Real Salt Lake last Saturday. Chivas had started its 2012 campaign with two 1-0 losses and missed the playoffs last year after winning just one of their final 11 matches.

Saturday’s result felt good for a team in need, a coach trying to build from the ground up and a veteran goalie who’s coming-out party has been delayed but dynamic. It also offered a blueprint for Chivas’ 2012 playoff hopes.

“We just need to make sure about being a complete team over 90-plus minutes and fighting for the duration of the game. If we can do that and just improve a little bit, the reality is that we’ll be in the fight for a spot,” he said, adding that for Chivas to be successful, they’re going to have to buy in to a work ethic that creates a side that’s far greater than the sum of its more humble parts.

Humility is no issue for Kennedy, who was selected by Chivas in the fourth round of the 2005 MLS supplemental draft after a stellar career at California-Santa Barbara. He opted for the minor league Puerto Rico Islanders instead, and then spent a year in Chile before returning to Chivas and sitting behind Zach Thornton. Last year, at 28-years-of age, Kennedy finally was a starter.

And he excelled, often keeping Chivas in games and earning the club’s player of the year award and a new multi-year contract. Now 29, he’ll be in the mix for the league’s goalkeeper of the year award.

“I always had the self belief that I could do it and I didn’t want someone else to make the decision of when my career was going to end. I’ve had many points in my career where I’ve had that decision made and you just move on and never stop working and keep knocking on doors until something opens up. You take it one step at a time,” he said.

That self belief will have to extend to his teammates, who are beginning their second season under coach Robin Fraser. The Goats (1-2-0) don’t have much in the way of offensive firepower and are going to face their share of tight games.

“The whole coaching staff is really working on bringing the group together and making sure we’re a unit,” Kennedy said. “You saw a lot of that in our game against Salt Lake and now we’re building this system to make sure we have that kind of commitment each week.”

This week, another challenge awaits. High-flying Sporting Kansas City (3-0-0), which features an athletic and relentless 4-3-3 that has emerged as one of MLS’s most fearsome attacks, will visit The Home Depot Center on Sunday.

Kennedy waited a long time for these types of opportunities and Chivas, now in its eighth season in L.A., remains a club still searching for its style and identity. Wins like last weekend’s and a good performance against SKC will help.

“We need to know we’re playing at home and we need to make this our house,” Kennedy said. “We need to give something back to our fans and give them the three points.”

Champions Return

Following a rough-and-tumble, four-games-in-12-days start to the season that featured an unexpected quarterfinal exit from the CONCACAF Champions League and a loss to Real Salt Lake in their MLS opener, the L.A. Galaxy got 13 days to heal up, rest and shore up their defensive plans in the absence of 2011 defender of the year Omar Gonzalez.

“We never kind of caught a rhythm because of fatigue and all that kind of stuff,” coach Bruce Arena told reporters this week. “No excuses. It’s a little bit better now to have this where we get a little bit of training in and get to know each other a little better.”

L.A. (1-1-0) will return to action Saturday night (11 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network) against the New England Revolution (1-2-0), who are coming off a much-needed win over the Portland Timbers. But the Galaxy still may not be at full strength—captain Landon Donovan has missed practice with quadriceps injury and may not play vs. New England.

Donovan dealt with a similar injury last fall that forced him to pull out of two U.S. national team matches.

“He’s got a slight problem, but it’s not a big issue. We have to be careful with players and little niggles they pick up,” David Beckham said. “It’s just precaution that he’s pulling out training. If he’s not all right, we’ve got players who will step in and do the job. His health is the most important part.”

Overshadowed Olympians

Lost in the angst and hand-wringing following the U.S. Under-23 national team’s stunning elimination from the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament this week is that there still will be American soccer at the London games.

The U.S. women qualified for the 12-team Olympic tournament in January, romping through the regional preliminaries with a 5-0-0 record and a 38-0 goal differential. Unlike the men’s tournament, the women’s competition is open to senior national teams, meaning the U.S. will be fielding a side very similar to the one that finished as runner-up in last year’s Women’s World Cup.

Preparation will begin earnest on Sunday when the U.S. visits world champion Japan in Sendai (6:30 AM ET, ESPN2). The Japanese proved last summer’s triumph wasn’t a fluke when they beat the U.S., 1-0, on March 5 and the Americans will want to level the score, if only for confidence purposes, before heading to the U.K.

On April 3 the U.S. will play Brazil in Chiba in a rematch of their epic World Cup quarterfinal.

Meanwhile, CONCACAF’s two representatives to the men’s Olympic tournament will be determined Saturday night at Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City. While the U.S. U-23s are back with their clubs, Honduras will play El Salvador and Mexico will play Canada for the prized berths.

Fulham’s Flagging Form

When a player scores at the prodigious rate that Clint Dempsey managed from early January through early March, a three-game drought feels like an eternity. The fact that Fulham (9-12-9) lost all three and has slipped to 13th place in the English Premier League – 11 points above the relegation zone – increases the tension.

Dempsey and Fulham will get the chance to end those streaks on Saturday against Norwich City (10-11-9), which features American defender Zak Whitbreak. A win, along with a few goals, could vault Fulham (36 points) as high as 10th in the EPL.

“We’re pretty close to where we want to be,” Cottagers coach Martin Jol said. “Our first target was to have 40 points on the board because I feel that is enough this season to stay up and after that we’d like to have as many points on the board as possible.”

Dempsey currently has 18 goals this season, including 12 in league play. He last scored on March 4. Starting with an FA Cup hat trick against Charlton Athletic on Jan. 7, Dempsey struck nine times in under two months. He also scored the U.S. national team’s only goal in the 1-0 win over Italy on Feb. 29.

Dempsey has one more season on his Fulham contract and this week Jol was quoted saying that he’s anxious for the Texan, along with soon-to-be free agents Danny Murphy and Andy Johnson, to renew their commitments to the London club.

“If they are mentally strong they will stay with us,” the manager said. “'If not, if they need to play or go somewhere else, we can go on with our transformation.”

Whether or not Jol receives any big offers for Dempsey may depend on how he finishes the season.